1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to covering devices, specifically to vehicle covers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles having open storage portions, such as pick up truck beds, often benefit from a covering disposed over the open top of the storage portion. This is particularly important wherein a user may be storing/carrying materials that may be damaged by the elements or that may be advantageously hidden from view. For example, a vehicle may be carrying paper products that may be damaged by wind, rain, and/or sun. In another example, a vehicle may be carrying tools that may be advantageously covered, thereby helping prevent theft of the tools.
Various means of covering open storage portions of vehicles are known in the art. Past covers include hard and/or soft shells configured to be coupled to the vehicle. Covering devices may even include mechanical devices for retracting the covering device such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,034 to Lamb. Therein there is disclosed a retractable cover designed for use in covering the bed of a conventional pick up truck. The cover includes a pair of beaded side edges wherein each of the beaded side edges slidably engage a track or longitudinal opening molded in a slide member mounted to the side walls of a bed on a pick up truck. One end of the cover is fixed to a spring loaded, continuously biased, roller rotatably mounted to the forward section of the truck's bed in a plane below the plane of the extended truck cover. A flap is also provided to cover the roller as well as a means to seal the flap to the truck cover when fully extended. A locking mechanism is fixed at or near the tailgate of the truck's bed to maintain the extended, spring biased cover in an extended and locked position.
In another example, there is U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,668 to Stevens et al. wherein is disclosed a retainer system for vehicle soft tops and tonneau covers. The system includes a belt attached to the edge of the fabric of the top or tonneau cover and a channel member mounted on the vehicle to selectively receive the belt. The belt is provided with a stop mechanism to positively prevent the belt from peeling out of the retaining channel member farther than desired. In the preferred embodiments, the stop mechanism is a notch or cutout in the belt. With the present retainer system, the notch will effectively stop the peel or withdrawal of the belt from the retaining channel at a predetermined location along the channel. In this manner, the belt and attached top or tonneau cover can be partially removed from engagement along the channel member to make it easier and quicker for the operator to perform a number of desirable tasks.
Some covers include folding portions, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,428 to Ericson et al. wherein is disclosed a folding cover for a pickup truck bed comprising of a plurality of substantially rigid material sheets hinged together using specially adapted hinges made of a flexible material, the flexible hinges extending the width of the sheets making the cover substantially leak-proof/weatherproof. In a second embodiment, the cover can be mounted on rollers which themselves can be rollably supported by a horizontal track mounted to one or both of the side rails of the pickup truck bed to make folding and unfolding of the cover easier.
Problems with prior art covering devices include cost of materials, complexity of configuration, reliability issues caused by too many parts, inability to change out parts easily, failure to accommodate varying load shapes and sizes, large storage requirements when not in use, complexity and/or difficulty in using/installing the device, weight of the device, difficulty installing on a variety of vehicles, and tangling of parts of the device.
What is needed is a covering device that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.